CEO of Heartlines a courageous + fresh copywriting studio that attempts to infuse every line with soul + personality. Best-Selling Author. @JessMDrury

Jun 28, 2017

Busting 3 Sales Page Myths

I want to debunk a couple of myths surrounding your Sales Page or (work with me page, if that’s what you prefer to call it). The page most entrepreneurs cry salty stressed out tears into their keyboards over. I know this because it’s the single page I get hired to write more than any other.

MYTH #1. I NEED A FORMAL, LONG-FORM SALES PAGE IN ORDER TO CONVERT.

Well…maybe. It really depends on what you’re selling & how much it costs. Very generally speaking the more something costs — the more convincing you’ve got to do therefore the longer the page.

So, let’s say you’re selling a $20 physical or digital product on your website. You definitely don’t need a long-form, old-school sales page. In fact, maybe you just need a killer description with an emotional hook & a few specific details about the product and how they receive it. Don’t go overboard if the ask is small.

However, if you’ve got a larger product/ service for a couple hundred dollars…well, now we’re into sales page territory. You’re going to have to overcome some objections & have a creative angle that makes you sound fresh & unique so they don’t go price shopping with your competitors. This requires more space. But you still don’t need to go crazy with the length.

So when IS the appropriate time to haul out the long form sales page? How about when you’re trying to sell your signature program (or service package) for 2K or more? And who does this really well? Here are a couple of examples I’ve seen recently which have been beautifully executed with very different styles & brand voices so you can see the contrast. Example 1 & Example 2. Todd Herman of 90 Day Year also always does a killer job. But if he’s not currently enrolling a new cohort into his program there’s no sales page up. Watch for it though, it’s worth studying.

But that’s only necessary if you’re asking them to buy right on the page. Let’s say instead you had a signature program but at the end of the page, you ask your reader to schedule a free discovery session or strategy session with you. The ask is smaller again (although the onus is now on you to close the sale live!) So where do you want the heavy lifting to be done on the sales page or on the call? How many people are coming into your signature program or service package? If it’s a cosy intimate group some face time might be a nice touch. Or if the price point is 10K+ then it’s just unavoidable. Or do you want the sales page to do all the work? Lots of things to consider. And the *right* length will be determined by your unique mix of factors.

2. I CAN JUST FOLLOW A TEMPLATE OR FILL-IN-THE-BLANK, COOKIE-CUTTER STYLE FORMULA.

After that first question, I’m betting you can anticipate my answer to this one. It’s HELL NO!! There’s no single template that will serve in every sales situation. There ARE certain sections, certain psychological steps that you need to take the buyer through to get their attention, establish an emotional connection & convince ’em why YOU’RE the best. Those are pretty universal & I’ve got you covered below. But in the end, why would you WANT to use someone else’s template or fill-in-the-blank sales page formula? You need room for your own personality. Your own voice to rise to the surface. The LAST thing you want is to sound exactly like every other schmuck out there. All that does…is guarantee eye-glaze. Which is not good for your sales.

3. ONCE IT’S WRITTEN AND PUBLISHED I’M DONE.

Nope. Sorry to burst your hopeful, I’ve-finally-made-it-to-the-end-of-this-ever-loving-process bubble. You’re not done yet. This is especially true of evergreen products/services but I really think it applies to everything.

Once it’s published, you can begin to test & test some more & then guess what? You test again. Copy is never done. There’s always room for tweaking. Try split-testing your hook. Or split-test your call-to-action. Set up your page for a heat map test & see where the eyeballs stop reading — then go back & tweak your copy baby. I know copy is a living, breathing thing. That your message needs to evolve & move with you. That’s why I came up with my service called Copy & Soul. So you’d always have a copywriter on your team — at your beck & call.

You’re probably thinking, “I have to start somewhere!” I get it! Recommendation #1: If you have the time & talent to DIY your copy you need to invest in an amazing copywriting course. Learn how to do it properly because your bottom line depends on it. Recommendation #2: hire a pro. Find someone who can rock a sales page & understand your business. Please know not every copywriter out there can do that.

For the DIYers in the house, I’ve got a flexible framework for your sales page. It’s NOT a template. It’s DEFINITELY NOT a fill-in-the-blank sales page. Instead, I walk you through all the sections of a sales page. Tell you which ones are mandatory & which ones are optional so you can make it completely customisable to your specific needs. Long or short it’ll suit your style. Perhaps most importantly I’ll let you in on the WHY behind the psychology of each section so you can understand the purpose it serves & why it’s 100% necessary or up to you. You can grab it free right here. Enjoy!

This article was originally published on The Heartlines Blog. If you enjoyed it hit the green heart, share or leave a comment. ;)